This invention relates to woodworking benches, veneered panel gluing presses and case goods assembly and gluing presses.
Woodworking benches comprising generally a flat horizontal surface supported at waist height by legs or a base are well known in the prior art. Tops are most typically constructed, in better quality benches, of edge-to-edge laminations of dense hardwoods such as maple or beech. In addition to providing support for work pieces being machined with various tools, such bench tops are frequently used as clamping surfaces when work piece assemblies are clamped together during gluing. An attempt to use such a conventional bench top as one of two press members typically meets with limited success, however, because a solid or laminated wood top of conventional thickness on the order of 11/2 to 3 inches (38 to 76 millimeters) will bow significantly in response to application of clamping pressure at its edges. It is also difficult to maintain the top surface of such a solid wood structure uniformly flat because of wood movement in response to humidity changes.
Various veneering and case goods assembly and gluing presses are well known in the prior woodworking equipment art, typically comprising a massive steel bed, above which screws are mounted to exert pressure against systems of cauls and battens. Even larger structures are also known comprising opposing massive steel press plates or platens forced together by pneumatic rams. All such conventional presses are typically large, heavy, and expensive, thus placing equipment suitable for use in accurate veneering work and case goods assembly gluing beyond the means of small woodworking shop budget and space limitations.